why does a gibbous/waxing moon look different depending on when you are in the world?
In: Planetary Science
Let’s assume North is “up” and South is “down”.
If you stand on the north pole and look at the moon, you would see it with the arch of the moon pointing one way. Now stand on your head. It appears that the moon has rotated. It didn’t, but you did! If you were standing straight up at the south pole, your orientation compared to the moon is the same as it was when you were upside down on the north pole.
From that point of view, being at the equator is like lying on your side at the north pole.
If you’re asking the question I think you’re asking, the moon’s orientation will appear to change depending on specifically the latitude of the observer because the observer’s orientation is changing because the earth is a ball, and happens regardless of phase. If you could somehow travel in a straight line south from near the North Pole to near the South Pole very quickly, you would see the moon appear to rotate clockwise 180 degrees during your trip.
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